The young man and the sea

Rating: 5/10 (30 June 2012)

Giuseppe Tornatore's work will always be compared with his excellent "Cinema Paradiso", a beloved film of audiences all over the world. He is a talented filmmaker who has worked extensively in the Italian cinema with success. "The Legend of 1900" shot in English presents a challenge for the talented director in that it is basically a film with an European sensitivity that does not work too well with a wide distribution. It is based on a monologue by Alessandro Baricco, the author of "Silk".
Mr. Tornatore's stories are basically a look to the past as "Malena", "The Star Maker", "Baaria" and "Cinema Paradiso" prove. The director's love for his native land translates well as the setting for his films. Working in his native Sicily makes his films to immensely well felt, something that seems to be lacking in this venture. In this ambitious epic, the director adapted the material for a larger than life portrait of a man whose love for the sea proves to be his own doom. This ambitious canvas does not have the same feeling as his more intimate depictions of a society he knows well.
In the written page, the text has an intimate feeling. In the finished product, the film did not translate as well. Part of the problem is the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Virginian, the home of '1900', a man that was born in the big ship. An auto didactic man, he finds a passion in playing the piano as the jazz era begins to make inroads in the life of America and the world. His talent is recognized, but his fear of living outside the only world he knew, prevented his becoming the sensation he should have been by not leaving the Virginian. Not even when he found love for the angelic immigrant he meets would make him abandon the only home he ever had.
Tim Roth does a nice job of the pianist. Taylor Pruitt Vince is Max, 1900's best friend. Clarence Williams III makes an impressive Jelly Roll Morton. Peter Vaughn and Melanie Thierry are also featured. Ennio Morricone's music is a bit disappointing. He has done much better in his long career as a composer of musical scores. Lajos Koltai's cinematography is about the best thing in the film. His take on the luxury liner is impressive.